- A $6.27 billion GPS overhaul collapsed amid persistent technical glitches
- Testing revealed system flaws that risked global GPS reliability
- The US Space Force abandoned the project after the timeline became operationally irrelevant
The US Space Force has ended the Next Generation Operational Control System (OCX) program after it discovered extensive system problems that made timely delivery impossible.
The goal of this program was to modernize the command and control of the GPS satellite constellation.
But after several trials and collaborations, the Defense Acquisition Executive could no longer ignore its ineffectiveness and had to let it go.
The article continues below
What went wrong with the $6.27 billion program?
As of January 2026, the OCX program had cost approximately $6.27 billion, including Raytheon funding and government testing costs.
The Space Force contractually accepted the OCX from Raytheon in July 2025 after factory testing, then began extensive integrated system testing.
During this testing phase, officials discovered problems across a wide range of capability areas that would compromise current GPS military and civilian capabilities.
The system was intended to replace the current Architecture Evolution Plan (AEP) and the Launch, Anomaly, and Disposal Operations system.
Instead, Space Force determined that further investment in OCX was no longer the best solution to protect and advance GPS capabilities.
Space Force went away
In an effort to make the system work, the government and the contractor team took a collaborative approach.
However, it became apparent that onboarding OCX within an operationally relevant timeline is virtually impossible.
“Unfortunately, extensive system problems occurred during the integrated testing of OCX with the broader GPS enterprise,” said Mission Delta 31 Commander Col. Stephen Hobbs.
“The challenges of onboarding the system within an operationally relevant timeline proved to be insurmountable.”
The cancellation of a $6.27 billion program after years of development is a clear admission of failure, but the Space Force had to decide whether to walk away or sink more money into an unaffordable timeline, and it chose the former.
Going forward, instead of completing OCX, the Space Force will continue to improve the current control system to operate the GPS satellite constellation.
It has made incremental improvements to the existing AEP system over the past ten years due to previous OCX delays.
These successful upgrades provide confidence that further improvements to GPS ground systems will continue to support the company.
“It is important that we refine and update acquisition processes to prioritize rapid, incremental capability delivery versus complex ‘all or nothing’ system deliveries,” said Acting Service Acquisition Executive Tom Ainsworth.
“The Department of War has made it clear that we need to deliver warfighting capabilities at an accelerated pace. We must continue to work with industry to meet the needs of our warfighters while focusing on delivering the right technology on the right timeline to improve our capabilities and maintain space superiority.”
Follow TechRadar on Google News and add us as a preferred source to get our expert news, reviews and opinions in your feeds.
